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Hillingdon Conservatives will take no further action against Councillor Richard Barnes, after lewd photographs appeared on his Facebook page last month.

At a disciplinary hearing yesterday (Thursday), the Harefield ward councillor was quizzed by senior Tory group members, including council leader Ray Puddifoot and group chief whip, Councillor Susan O'Brien.

At the time of the incident, when pictures showing the lower half of a partially naked man and some of a fully nude man appeared on Mr Barnes's page, Mr Puddifoot said: “Our group rules state: ‘Members shall ensure that their business and private lives does not cause embarrassment to the group or the Conservative Party’.

After Thursday's hearing, Ms O'Brien said in a statement: "The leader and I met with and spoke to Councillor Richard Barnes about this matter and accepted his explanation that these were his private photos and he did not, and never intended to, put them into to the public domain.

"As such, we regard this as part of his private life and not a matter for the Conservative Group."

When the story broke, Mr Barnes told the Gazette his Facebook account had been hacked.

This appears to draw a line under the embarrassing incident which came after a difficult few months for Mr Barnes in which the former Greater London Authority deputy leader lost his assembly seat and was de-selected by the Hillingdon Conservatives ahead of next spring's local government elections.